Paper details

Paper authors	Rebecca Engel
In panel on	From Board to Reality: The Practice of Research Ethics Reviews in Conflict Settings
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

There is a tension between the localisation agenda and the power imbalances reinforced precisely by the ways in which the agenda is interpreted and implemented in research (and practice). Evidence from the ‘Timorisation’ experience illustrates how the proposed remedy to perceived neo-colonial practices of international intervention can become highly problematic, as it may raise barriers to solidarity-based cooperation without addressing the underlying issues that have led to calls for localisation. Contemporary efforts to localise fail to address the structural causes of power asymmetries while perpetuating an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, reifying those very imbalances. Localisation alone cannot alter systemic constructs of power and access. It fails to provide a framework for genuine trusting relationships. Rather, it perpetuates a simplified myth that localisation will reduce global inequalities when a more transformative approach is required.

Meanwhile, research methods curricula for graduate students preparing to conduct research in conflict-affected environments increasingly emphasise the ethics of intervention. Students are taught to be reflexive, to consider questions of power and positionality and to ensure genuine participation, so as not to be extractive. In the best cases, students’ research protocols must pass rigorous reviews by an ethics board. Larger NGOs are working to develop their own guidelines and standards for research. In practice, particularly in conflict-affected settings, the desired ethical standards are almost inevitably jettisoned in the light of time and resource/donor constraints and in the name of research independence. Nor are we carefully interrogating the premise of our aspirations in terms of local participation and ownership in the light of myriad structural constraints. It is time to ensure ethical research practices are informed by an understanding of the root causes of structural power imbalances, create opportunities for collaboration and alliance formation and advance common objectives, rather than continuing to valorise an oversimplified localisation agenda that perpetuates a superficial ‘us vs. them’ dichotomy and reinforces oppositional agendas over inter-sectional and earnest North-South cooperation.

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